Friday, September 12, 2014
Friday, May 10, 2013
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Soroca - and our last day in Moldova
We went to see the medieval fortress at Soroca today after a stop at the Churchi monastery. It was freezing! The Churchi monastery was beautiful, and after a quick tour we were back on the bus on our way to Soroca. Soroca is a city situated on the Nistru river, just across from Ukraine. The fort, established by Stefan cel Mare in probably 1499, was important in the campaigns of Peter the Great and the Russo-Turkish War. Soroca is full of a lot of Roma houses and has a large gypsy population.
We spent the day touring the fortress and learning about its history from our hilarious guide. It was super windy and very cold, so, as much fun as we were having, we were ready to get back on the bus! The original plan was to have a picnic lunch on the Nistru river, but because it was so cold, we ate on the bus while Professor Ion Tetuic told us about his latest project, which is taking place during the restoration of the fortress. he also invited us back to join him!
We made our way back to Chisinau after the tour and lunch where we were able to change clothes and relax for a bit before our Farewell Reception with our ULIM colleagues. We had a nice dinner at Hotel Europa with our friends, and they gave us all a little Moldovan memento to remember our experience. Eventually, we all decided that our wine from Milestii Mici might be too much to take home, and started bringing bottles down to share with our friends. We had a great last night, and I will never forget this trip.
We spent the day touring the fortress and learning about its history from our hilarious guide. It was super windy and very cold, so, as much fun as we were having, we were ready to get back on the bus! The original plan was to have a picnic lunch on the Nistru river, but because it was so cold, we ate on the bus while Professor Ion Tetuic told us about his latest project, which is taking place during the restoration of the fortress. he also invited us back to join him!
We made our way back to Chisinau after the tour and lunch where we were able to change clothes and relax for a bit before our Farewell Reception with our ULIM colleagues. We had a nice dinner at Hotel Europa with our friends, and they gave us all a little Moldovan memento to remember our experience. Eventually, we all decided that our wine from Milestii Mici might be too much to take home, and started bringing bottles down to share with our friends. We had a great last night, and I will never forget this trip.
Our last breakfast together in Moldova!
Churchi Monastery
Churchi Monastery
Churchi Monastery
The Floridians were FREEZING!!!!
Churchi Monastery
BBRRRRRR its COLD!!!
Ukraine across the river
Soroca Fortress
More cold Floridians - Kendel
Soroca Fortress
Judge Gross, Jared, Dr. M, Kendel, Patricia, Sebastian, me, Larisa and Erica at the fortress in Soroca.
Soroca Fortress
Ukraine through a window at Soroca Fortress
Soroca from the top of the fortress
Soroca from the top of the fortress
The scariest stairs I've seen since I was in Amsterdam.
We had the best hats. Me, Jared, and Sebastian
Soroca
Judge Gross, Sebastian, me, Dr. M, Patricia, Jared, and Kendel
Back on the bus
Professor Tentuic talking about his latest research at Soroca
What a spread!
Larisa and Marissa - our bye-bye party
What a great looking group!
Me and Lauren - Go BULLS!
Andrei, my research partner, and me
My Moldova magnet - a gift from Andrei
Patricia, Teo, Jared and Lauren
These girls are BULLS!
Heeeeeyyyyy Moldova!
Tatiana and me
Sebastian's contribution to the party
You're welcome, Moldova
Love ya, Dr. M!!!
Friday, March 15, 2013
Seminars and The Titus Center
We started our day at ULIM with presentations by Ion Manole, the Director of Promo-LEX, a European Convention on Human Rights, Human Rights in Transnistria. This convention works towards establishing democratic rights, human rights litigation, and a civil society relating to the Transnistrian conflict.
There are three armies in Moldova, the National Army, the Separatists, and the Russian 14th Army, which is illegal, according to the Moldovan Constitution. This causes a lot of problems, especially where the issue of human rights is concerned. The European Convention stipulates that Moldova must protect the victims, but because of the conflict in Transnistria, the Moldovan authorities have little to no presence there. Russia has the strongest presence in the area, and has been found guilty three times of human rights violations in Transnistria in a European Criminal Court. Moldovan authorities do not have control over the region or over the border between Russia and Ukraine, and Transnistrian authorities often refuse to help victims unless they pay a bribe.
There is also the issue of energy dependency upon Russia; Russia supplies Transnistria with its gas and energy, but bills Moldova, which has created a debt of $4 billion for Transnistria's energy. Because there is no official agreement between Russia and Transnistria, Moldova is responsible for the costs. If Russia would leave the Transnistrian region, a conflict resolution would probably be much easier to reach, but Russia continues to keep its troops in the region in a peacekeeping capacity, which is actually Russia occupying the region.
Moldova also has its own issues with regards to its path to membership into the European Union aside from the conflict over Transnistria. There is a lack of civil society and a lack of free mass media, both of which stand in the way of progress.
Our next speaker was Dr. Serghei Turcan, the head of the Public Law Department and Moldovan Constitution Professor at ULIM. He talked about elections, the political situation in Moldova, how the Parliament is set up and how the judicial system works.
In Moldova, it is difficult for independent parties to get elected, because in order to be elected to Parliament, a party must receive a minimum of two percent of the vote. The voters vote for party blocks rather than individual candidates. The Parliamentary system in Moldova is a hybrid of a French-style Constitutional system and a traditional Parliamentary system, with a President who is elected by the Parliament with a 2/3 vote. The Parliament recently voted the President out with a vote of no-confidence, and is now trying to reach an agreement on a new President, which will be difficult due to the lack of a supermajority by any party and a shortage of political alliances between the parties. If the Parliament is unable to elect a President, the Parliament should be dissolved and new elections should take place. This is a problem for the goal of European Union candidacy, because is demonstrates a lack of stability within the political system and the government of Moldova, two strikes where EU membership considerations are concerned. Many Moldovans believe that the President should be elected by direct vote by the people, but this would require amending the constitution, which is never an easy task in any country.
There is also the problem of influence by political parties on the justice system in Moldova, creating an untrustworthy, sometimes corrupt, judiciary. There should not be outside influence, but it does exist, and judges become dependent on the political parties who influence them, resulting in a lack of equity or independence in the courtrooms. Parliament also elects Supreme Court judges, and should be electing two new ones, but with the current state of Parliament, this will not take place.
Judges in Moldova have full immunity, creating a safe haven for corrupt judges, and immunity may only be revoked by the Supreme Council of Magistrates, which rarely happens. Judges are pretty unlikely to strip immunity from another judge. In corruption cases, judges may be removed from the case without the consent of the Supreme Council of Magistrates, and in the term of five years, if a judge is not performing well, he cannot be promoted.
Our next presentation came from representatives from the American Bar Association, who are working on establishing a more succinct presence of the rule of law in Moldova by supporting judicial sector reform and preparing Moldova for membership into the European Union. They also provide continuous education and commentary on legislation, and work with local legislators to develop sentencing guidelines and set professional ethics standards for defense attorneys. There is also a push to reform standards of admission into the legal profession. The ABA has also implemented, with the help and funding from the US Embassy, an anti-corruption program.
After our seminars, we had lunch, took some group photos, and headed to Telenesti to meet Peace Corps volunteer Thomas Richman at the Titus Center, an orphanage which also provides after school care for local children. We presented them with a donation of games and dental care supplies, and did an arts and crafts project with the kids. Afterwards, we played "Cat-Cat-Dog," which is exactly like "Duck-Duck-Goose" but with different words. The kids had a great time and I ended up making a new friend! Next we played another game that I'd never heard of before, "Coke or Pepsi" which was really confusing but hilarious! The kids seemed to have a really good time, and afterwards, we went inside to learn a little more about the Center and have a quick snack before we headed back to Chisinau.
There are three armies in Moldova, the National Army, the Separatists, and the Russian 14th Army, which is illegal, according to the Moldovan Constitution. This causes a lot of problems, especially where the issue of human rights is concerned. The European Convention stipulates that Moldova must protect the victims, but because of the conflict in Transnistria, the Moldovan authorities have little to no presence there. Russia has the strongest presence in the area, and has been found guilty three times of human rights violations in Transnistria in a European Criminal Court. Moldovan authorities do not have control over the region or over the border between Russia and Ukraine, and Transnistrian authorities often refuse to help victims unless they pay a bribe.
There is also the issue of energy dependency upon Russia; Russia supplies Transnistria with its gas and energy, but bills Moldova, which has created a debt of $4 billion for Transnistria's energy. Because there is no official agreement between Russia and Transnistria, Moldova is responsible for the costs. If Russia would leave the Transnistrian region, a conflict resolution would probably be much easier to reach, but Russia continues to keep its troops in the region in a peacekeeping capacity, which is actually Russia occupying the region.
Moldova also has its own issues with regards to its path to membership into the European Union aside from the conflict over Transnistria. There is a lack of civil society and a lack of free mass media, both of which stand in the way of progress.
Our next speaker was Dr. Serghei Turcan, the head of the Public Law Department and Moldovan Constitution Professor at ULIM. He talked about elections, the political situation in Moldova, how the Parliament is set up and how the judicial system works.
In Moldova, it is difficult for independent parties to get elected, because in order to be elected to Parliament, a party must receive a minimum of two percent of the vote. The voters vote for party blocks rather than individual candidates. The Parliamentary system in Moldova is a hybrid of a French-style Constitutional system and a traditional Parliamentary system, with a President who is elected by the Parliament with a 2/3 vote. The Parliament recently voted the President out with a vote of no-confidence, and is now trying to reach an agreement on a new President, which will be difficult due to the lack of a supermajority by any party and a shortage of political alliances between the parties. If the Parliament is unable to elect a President, the Parliament should be dissolved and new elections should take place. This is a problem for the goal of European Union candidacy, because is demonstrates a lack of stability within the political system and the government of Moldova, two strikes where EU membership considerations are concerned. Many Moldovans believe that the President should be elected by direct vote by the people, but this would require amending the constitution, which is never an easy task in any country.
There is also the problem of influence by political parties on the justice system in Moldova, creating an untrustworthy, sometimes corrupt, judiciary. There should not be outside influence, but it does exist, and judges become dependent on the political parties who influence them, resulting in a lack of equity or independence in the courtrooms. Parliament also elects Supreme Court judges, and should be electing two new ones, but with the current state of Parliament, this will not take place.
Judges in Moldova have full immunity, creating a safe haven for corrupt judges, and immunity may only be revoked by the Supreme Council of Magistrates, which rarely happens. Judges are pretty unlikely to strip immunity from another judge. In corruption cases, judges may be removed from the case without the consent of the Supreme Council of Magistrates, and in the term of five years, if a judge is not performing well, he cannot be promoted.
Our next presentation came from representatives from the American Bar Association, who are working on establishing a more succinct presence of the rule of law in Moldova by supporting judicial sector reform and preparing Moldova for membership into the European Union. They also provide continuous education and commentary on legislation, and work with local legislators to develop sentencing guidelines and set professional ethics standards for defense attorneys. There is also a push to reform standards of admission into the legal profession. The ABA has also implemented, with the help and funding from the US Embassy, an anti-corruption program.
After our seminars, we had lunch, took some group photos, and headed to Telenesti to meet Peace Corps volunteer Thomas Richman at the Titus Center, an orphanage which also provides after school care for local children. We presented them with a donation of games and dental care supplies, and did an arts and crafts project with the kids. Afterwards, we played "Cat-Cat-Dog," which is exactly like "Duck-Duck-Goose" but with different words. The kids had a great time and I ended up making a new friend! Next we played another game that I'd never heard of before, "Coke or Pepsi" which was really confusing but hilarious! The kids seemed to have a really good time, and afterwards, we went inside to learn a little more about the Center and have a quick snack before we headed back to Chisinau.
Ion Manole of Lex Pro
Ion Manole of Lex Pro
Dr. M. presenting Ion Manole of Lex Pro his Certificate!
Dr.Serghei Turcan
Dr.Serghei Turcan
American Bar Association
American Bar Association
American Bar Association
USF-ULIM Joint Course Class!
Dr. M, thanking the ULIM faculty and administration
Dr. M, thanking the ULIM faculty and administration
Larisa's Mickey Mouse ears!
Thank you, Larisa!
Getting my certificate
Explaining why I loved my experience in Moldova
Our group outside ULIM
GO BULLS!
Thank you, ULIM!
Dr. M. presenting Thomas with our donation for the Titus Center kids.
Dr. M. presenting Thomas with our donation for the Titus Center kids.
Our arts and crafts project at the Titus Center
Arts and Crafts with the Titus Center kids.
Jared chasing me in our game of Cat-Cat-DOG!
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